Fischtreppe Geesthacht

The Fischtreppe Geesthacht is a fish passage facility built alongside a dam on the Elbe River in northern Germany. It comprises numerous connected pools that allow fish to navigate upstream past the barrier and continue their migration routes.

The facility opened in 2010 as an ecological mitigation project for an industrial power station located downstream. Its construction represented a response to environmental requirements for managing riverine fish populations.

The structure demonstrates German engineering excellence in environmental protection by enabling fish migration through a series of carefully designed water basins.

The site is open to public access and can be explored on foot to observe how fish navigate through the system. Designated viewing areas offer good vantage points to watch the water flow and the passage structure.

This facility ranks among Europe's longest fish passages and processes thousands of fish daily through its complex system. A monitoring system tracks different species as they ascend, providing valuable data on migration success rates and population movements.